HKIRC said online retail and user engagement is lacking in .hk domains

This is the HKIRC's first research initiative focused on the .hk platform.

Only 7 per cent of all .hk registrations are online shopping portals. 3 per cent of these sites guarantee a secure payment model.

The .hk domains also face many other challenges. The survey indicates that 93 per cent of the 1,568 websites surveyed have not been updated in the past six months.

In addition, there is a low rate of interaction. Apart from emailing, only 28 per cent of the sites offer inquiry functions. These include online forms, forums and online chat services. Membership systems are still not adapted widely, with only 16 per cent of the sites running on this model.

HKIRC says that there is room to expand social media incorporation within websites in Hong Kong. A mere 10 per cent indicated they have social media tools linking to Facebook, YouTube, Twitter or Sina Weibo.

HKIRC announced the approval of the Chinese version of .hk at the end of June this year. Jonathan Shea, CEO of HKIRC suggested that web owners should regularly update their website and continue to invest in the creative use of Web 2.0. Fine-tuning security measures in sites would also encourage more users and boost online retail business in Hong Kong.